(Reuters) - Facebook has granted a Missouri father's tearful request to unlock his dead son's social media page and give him access to a video compilation of photos and posts he had been unable to view.

This week, to commemorate its 10th anniversary, Facebook has generated automated "Look Back" videos of users' social media pages, showing highlights of their time on the site.

Users must sign on to their Facebook page to instruct the social network to play their 62-second personalized video.

John Berlin of St. Louis, Missouri, made a tearful, emotional plea in an online video to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, asking to see such a video compilation of his late son's Facebook page.

His son, Jesse, died of natural causes in 2012 at age 21.

Berlin's video, posted on YouTube, generated more than 1 million hits in less than two days.

"I know it's a shot in the dark, but I don't care. I want to see my son's video," Berlin pleaded.

"He is proof that there are no guarantees in life. Hug your children, kiss them," he wrote in comments accompanying the video.

Berlin posted a statement on his YouTube account on Wednesday night saying he received permission from Facebook to see the video compilation.

Representatives of Facebook were not immediately available for comment.